Daria Gavrilova has claimed a straight sets win to give Australia the 1-0 lead in the 2016 Hopman Cup Final.
REPORT: AUSTRALIA WIN HOPMAN CUP
Gavrilova blitzed through the first set 6-4 and in the second set raced away to a 4-2 lead before Elina Svitolina brought the match into a tiebreaker.
Gavrilova dropped the first five points of the tiebreaker before she made an impressive comeback and won six straight before closing the match with an 8-6 tiebreaker victory.
Final score
Daria Gavrilova def. Elina Svitolina 6-4, 7-6.
Can Daria Gavrilova give Australia an early lead or will Elina Svitolina take the first tie of the Hopman Cup final and put the host nation at a disadvantage? Join The Roar for live scores from around 6:30pm (AEDT).
21-year-old Russian born Australian Daria Gavrilova has burst onto the scene and made a name for herself after she helped ATP world No.30 Nick Kyrgios to qualify Australia for their first Hopman Cup final since they lost to the United States 3-0 in the 2003 final.
Gavrilova, who is ranked 36th on the WTA Tour, started her tournament with a straight sets victory over German world No.32 Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 6-2.
Daria however was unable to win her next two matches going down to Heather Watson of Great Britain in three sets 7-6, 2-6, 5-7 and French 22-year-old Caroline Garcia in straight sets 4-6, 6-7.
The young Australian will have the support of the crowd behind her which will play a huge factor however she is up against it with Svitolina by far the best female player in this year’s Hopman Cup.
World No.19 Elina Svitolina has had an easy tournament so far with the Ukrainian winning all three of her fixtures.
Her tournament began against the United States when she came up against world No.1 Serena Williams’ replacement Victoria Duval with a victory in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.
Svitolina then went on to play world No.11 Czech Karolina Pliskova who went down in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
Most recently when Ukraine came up against Australia Gold, the female representative was drawn against 28 year old Slovak-Australian Jarmila Wolfe who she defeated in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
Svitolina has only dropped eighteen games all tournament and has won every set making her a force to be reckoned with.
The two Hopman Cup representatives have played each other on just one occasion when Svitolina won at Doha in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Prediction
Elina Svitolina will easily take the first tie and give Ukraine a major advantage with just two matches remaining in the final.
Svitolina in straight sets.
Join The Roar for live scores from around 6:30pm (AEDT).
Feel free to follow the live scores, and drop a comment in the box below if you’re watching the match.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Former Wimbledon champion, double grand slam winner and Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 30.…
Rafael Nadal has hailed the brilliance of Alex de Minaur, calling him "a great player" after the Australian forced the Spanish legend to say…
The clay season promises to be one of high level and tight margins. With the Monte Carlo open just around the corner, it will…
In incredible scenes, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz's quarter-final clash with Alexander Zverev at Indian Wells was halted abruptly due to a "bee invasion." Less…
Marathon man Jordan Thompson has finally clinched his first ATP Tour title, with the Australian upsetting Norwegian Casper Ruud to lift the trophy in…
Alex de Minaur has earned the perfect 25th birthday present, booking a place in the final of the Rotterdam Open with an emphatic revenge…
